MASD Capstones

Leroy Ahwinahwi

Implementation of Solar as a first stage for sustainability for Schools

Promoting Sustainability at St Philips School and Community Center and making it a net zero community, starting with the implementation of renewable solar energy solutions at the Main Campus.

Yessenia Gracia

A feminist approach to solutions in urban development

Exploration and proposal of a more equitable and diverse urban design that guarantees the use of public space as a place for economic development. A focus on the recent theory and social movement concerning the impact of the built environment on women, children and older adults. 

Jacquelyn Wong,   Investigating Participatory Principles of Sustainable Public-Private Partnerships

Examining stakeholder and community engagement as a critical prerequisite for success especially in implementing opportunities for sustainable development 

Jessica Masangu-Beya

Transportation and Community

Utilizing Transportation as a mean to balance social equity, build equitable communities and improve residents behaviors and values.

Rodney Fanner

Using non-traditional education deployment to improve Equity, Development, and Community Engagement *

Focused on improving minority and underserved communities in Waco, Texas, Greater Atlanta, and potentially others using a focused and non-traditional approach to development. Capstone will focus on a education delivery methodology which will serve as a catalyst to improving the locations initially and sustainment long-term.

Alejandra Hinojosa

Community and Place

Utilizing large and small scale urban gardens as gathering places to build social capital, community connections, and knowledge about where & how our food grows.

Domnik Cobos

Sustainable Small Business  

Utilizing a social hybrid business model as way for entrepreneurs to enact change and build capital within their communities while exploring barriers to entry and sustainable options for small businesses in Dallas communities.  

Grant Amlani

Breaking the Cycle: Moving Toward Circular Economy Practices 

Moving towards a circular economy with recycling; and how such efforts can be encouraged and enhanced through best practices at the campus and local level. Using SMU campus and North Texas region Grant examines existing policies and creates guidance and strategies to lead action. 

Chaquora Stukes (2022)

Textile Waste and Recycling for more Sustainable Fashion

Taking a look at the textile industry and ways to decrease post consumer waste through recycling.

Erik van Bloemen Waanders (2022)

Forest preservation, Tiny forests, and Precision agriculture.*

Preservation of green space as well continuing to create and build upon more areas and opportunities for tiny forests and agriculture in urban areas.

Matthew Handy (2022)

The Impact of Sustainable Design: Cost-Benefit Analysis and the Public Health of New Orleans *
In 2016 HUD awarded New Orleans $141.2 million to fund sustainable development programs to improve the resiliency of New Orleans. This capstone undertakes neighborhood assessment to analyze whether the programs succeeded in enhancing not only neighborhoods’ built and natural environments, but also health and well-being of their residents as intended.

Christian ‘Stan’ Lanier (2021)

Barriers to Confident and Waste-free Fishing in Dallas*
Determining how to make both fishing and disposal of recyclable monofilament line more accessible along the Trinity wetlands within Dallas.

Nehal Abdelfattah (2021)

Walk and Talk *
Promoting walking to school among children through tactical urbanism and community engagement, and measuring its impact through surveys, interviews and GIS.

Collin Yarbrough (2021)

Embedded Environmental Justice: Human Centered Design as a Tool for Undergraduate and Community Engagement *
By engaging undergraduate students in EJ projects through CB participatory action research, the project seeks to increase knowledge of HCD as an engineering research tool and strengthen the link between community work and CEE . Re-centering neighborhood perceptions and concerns as integral to research design, the project uses community-based response to drive site investigation and cleanup. Dallas Environmental Justice Archive

Lauren Melendez (2021)

Wind Powered Motor Lifeboats: Integrating wind energy at Coast Guard bases *
The Coast Guard works 24/7 to ensure the safety of the local community and needs a reliable source of energy to continue its missions, especially during natural disasters. Coast Guard bases constantly use power for radio communications and cyber security, while the boats work on a combination of shore power and gasoline/ diesel fuel. By harnessing coastal winds through small wind turbines, the Coast Guard can continue its missions sustainably.

Juan Rios (2021)

Fast & Flexible; Alternative Energy Components for COVID and Beyond
A project is to design and manufacture renovations to the SMU FSAE race trailer, including sustainable options not only for storage, alternative energy power source, energy storage, and workspace, but the associated improvements in team morale, and the opportunity for younger members to physically work on the car, even during COVID-19.

Jeffrey Buczynski

Overcoming Urban Food Deserts: Growing Celeste Fig Trees Indoors Affordably with Available Resources
Food deserts are a challenge in many urban settings across the US. Food deserts are areas that lack access to affordable fresh fruits, vegetables and other food that make up a full healthy diet. Food desert solutions should be varied, and one aspect of a comprehensive approach could be growing food indoors, however the challenge is to do so successfully, with affordable and widely available equipment. This project tests the production of edible fruit, indoors in an urban setting, using Celeste fig trees and tangelo trees as the crops.

Gabriela Imperial

Nature Based Playgrounds in DFW
Spaces where kids can connect with nature that are as accessible as a neighborhood playground, are hard to find in the DFW area. Nature-based playgrounds help initiate younger kids into nature exploration and foster future environment stewards. This project proposes a framework to seek the support and approval of stakeholders to build this style of playground in DFW

Kendall Bradley

Joe’s Creek Trash Mitigation Study

Trash accumulation in waterways is an ongoing problem that has many negative impacts on the environment, society, and the economy. The Joe’s Creek Trash Mitigation Study targets a small creek in Northwest Dallas, Joe’s Creek, to evaluate land uses responsible for trash pollution and develop solutions to mitigate these issues. These solutions can be applied at larger scales to prevent littering in similar waterways.

Paka Davis

Save, Serve, Sustain: A Socially Beneficial Solution to reducing SMU Football’s Food Waste *

Food waste and food insecurity are two tragic issues that have negative social, environmental, and economic impacts that vary from localized issues to regional and global issues. SAVE, SERVE, SUSTAIN, in this context, sought to address SMU Football’s food waste in ways that lead to positive social, environmental, and economic outcomes. The SAVE, SERVE, SUSTAIN model is intended to be a solution framework to address food waste and food insecurity at varying scales.

Cindy Hua

Sustainability is in the Air: low-cost air quality monitors in a STEM classroom *

Low-income and minority neighborhoods are disproportionately affected by poor air quality. To quantify these variations, air monitoring is vital. Sustainability is in the Air presents these topics as a community problem-solving challenge to engage middle to high school students in Dallas STEM classrooms. By building low-cost particulate matter air monitors, students monitor air quality fluctuations at their school during carpool traffic. Scaling project-based STEM learning initiatives brings potential for expanded community low-cost air network.

Priscila Trevino

How does Transportation affect Air Quality?

Air pollution is known to have negative effects on the environment as well as people’s health after having long-term exposure. Currently, transportation is considered one of the main sources of air pollution, which is why, in this Capstone, we discuss how it affects it directly by using air monitors to note how air quality is affected when there’s traffic vs when there is not. Recommendations proposed suggest how to reduce the use of transportation to be able to improve air quality in specific zones, keeping in mind the triple bottom line.

Mauricio López Castaldi

How Thermal Insulation in Steel Window Frames for Windows and Doors reduces Energy Costs